Sony’s new A7C is a surprising end to a summer full of major innovations in the camera world. Among other things, the new ZV-1 vlogcamera and the impressive A7SIII from Sony itself, as well as Canon’s new EOS R cameras, Blackmagic’s 12K camera and the compact Panasonic Lumix S5 have awakened camera enthusiasts.
With the compact and fresh appearance and the full-frame performance of the A7C, Sony is again taking big steps against the competition in the field of system cameras. You can buy the camera from the end of October, but Bright was able to test the A7C for a while.
New category
The A7C camera forms its own new category in the Alpha7 line alongside the A7S, A7R and A7 cameras. At 509 grams, the body is 22 percent lighter than that of the A7III and the size of the A7C is about 20 percent smaller than the A7III. The C therefore stands for ‘compact’. In the hand, the camera feels similar to the A6600 from Sony’s APS-C camera line. A full frame sensor in an APS-C body, that’s pretty impressive.
In addition to the compact design, the appearance has also been refreshed with a silver-gray aluminum strip on the top. It is somewhat like the Fujifilm cameras. The camera will also be available in a completely black version, but the new color will appeal to a lot of people. The camera is also equipped with the new flip-up touch screen that is also found in the ZV-1 and A7SIII camera. Unfortunately, the new menu navigation, introduced in the A7SIII, is not reflected in the A7C. Sony indicates that this is because the A7SIII has been specially adapted internally for this. It is hoped that the new menu can be found in subsequent new cameras.
The A7C shares its connectivity options with the a6600 camera, which Sony released a year ago. For example, it has a single SD card slot, in contrast to the two slots in the A7III. In addition, the camera has a micro HDMI port, a USB-C connection, a microphone connection and a 3.5 mm jack for the headphones. All ports are covered by new covers that unfortunately open somewhat awkwardly, especially if you have the LCD screen folded. Finally, the camera has a Multi Interface shoe on top for flash units, for example, with an electronic viewfinder next to it. The latter had a flickering image with our test model.
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Performance
According to Sony, the A7C is ideal for both photography and videography. The camera has a 24.4MP full-frame Exmor R CMOS sensor with an ISO range of 100-51,200 (expanded to 204800). The 5-axis in-body stabilization and the shutter design have also been updated to allow for the compact design. In terms of video, the camera supports 4: 2: 0 8-bit 4K 30 fps and 1080p 100 fps recording without limit.
This also includes the advanced autofocus, with which Sony’s system cameras excel. For example, the camera supports eye autofocus and the camera can easily keep track of objects while photographing or filming. With the NP-FZ100 battery, which is supported by all new A7 cameras, you can shoot up to 740 images.
In our use, the camera holds up well with video recordings in 4K. Moreover, the camera has not overheated. The video and photo quality has been very good during our use and the powerful autofocus remains unrivaled.
Conclusion
The A7C once again raises the bar for other camera manufacturers. The very compact and light design will be especially interesting for a gimbal or as a vlogging camera. In addition, the camera is compatible with Sony’s wireless hand grip.
The full-frame performance in such a small body is impressive, but choosing the A7C gets more complicated when you consider the price: € 2100 for the body and € 2400 with the new compact FE 28-60mm kit lens. In comparison, Sony’s own A7III is now available for less than € 2000 and Panasonic’s new Lumix S5 offers 10-bit 4K 30fps and is available from € 1999.
The A7C has a unique feature with its compact size, but will appeal to a smaller group due to its fairly high price compared to the competition.
Stijn Goossens, video editor Bright
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